


Diplomacy By Theft

by aspiringwordsmith



Category: Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Dancing, Deryn and Alek are with the Zoological Society of London, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Post Goliath, Post-Canon, Smug Lilit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 13:33:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7270300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspiringwordsmith/pseuds/aspiringwordsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As WWI rages on, Alek and Deryn have a new mission for the Society: steal some Clanker blueprints to maintain the Ottoman Republic's neutrality. Their cover? They're attending a ball hosted by one Lilit -- as a couple. Cue frustrated Deryn in a dress and a very amused hostess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diplomacy By Theft

**Author's Note:**

> Just realized I never posted this here. A prompter on tumblr wanted a mission that required fake dating and an amused Lilit. I delivered fake dates to a dance and stuck Lilit back in the Republic where she can kick diplomatic ass. Concrit welcome, enjoy!

“I still don’t understand why we were sent on this mission,” Alek grumbled, stepping stiffly about the dance floor. “Why, Barlow and Volger could easily –”

“No, they couldn’t have, and you know it,” muttered Deryn, fumbling her footwork and nearly colliding with Alek as he guided her into a sudden turn. 

“Oi! Warn me next time, will you?”

Deryn could practically see Alek’s internal eyeroll at that. “I thought the wall we were dancing towards would’ve been warning enough.”

Deryn huffed. “Well excuse me for being distracted by your continued insolence, your highness.” She lowered her voice, shuffling closer to her partner in their next few steps. “You know why we have to take this one. Sneaky though the boffin is, I can’t imagine her making an escape on a body kite.” 

Alek sighed, conceding the point for about the hundredth time. “Besides, I can’t see why you’re complaining. You’re not the one who’s been forced into a bloody dress.”

“I honestly don’t understand your aversion to them. The one I wore wasn’t – oh, hang on.” Alek’s hand suddenly pressed more firmly into the small of Deryn’s back, and he steered them deftly around the dancing pair of dignitaries in their path.

“Nice one,” Deryn admitted, only a little miffed at being dragged in her prince’s wake.

Alek shook his head. “Not really. Volger was right – I _am_ getting rusty.” His frown deepened.

“Ah, forget Volger. That count is entirely too critical. He’d scold a messenger lizard for speaking too slowly.”

Alek snorted. “He has.”

“Really?” Deryn stumbled, suppressing a laugh. Alek caught her weight and pushed her gently upright again. “Thanks,” she told him, squeezing his shoulder. “See, that was brilliant. You didn’t even break step. You’re dancing just fine with a bum-rag of a partner, so quit frowning.” Deryn placed a gentle hand on Alek’s cheek, and paused to watch the boy’s face freeze in surprise. Moments later, she dug a forceful thumb into the corner of his mouth, dragging it upwards until his expression became a grimacing grin. But soon enough, the other side of his mouth ticked upward to join the first. When Deryn withdrew her hand, a soft smile remained. “Much better,” she told him.

“You are ridiculous,” Alek noted. But he was still smiling, so Deryn counted it as a win.

“Guilty as charged,” she affirmed. “We should probably be sneaking off soon.”

“Mmhmm,” her partner hummed distantly, eyes fixed on something above her right shoulder. Deryn watched as his smile faded, a light blush emerging high on his cheekbones – and, Deryn observed with some amusement, the tips of his ears. Deryn wondered for a moment if it was because of her reassurance – but no, this was something else.

“What is it?” she asked him.

His eyes drifted reluctantly down to meet hers. “Hm?” Deryn raised an eyebrow.

“Um. It’s nothing,” Alek managed.

“Uh-huh. Sure. Nothing.” Deryn took control of their next few steps, spinning them around so that she could scan the area Alek had been staring at. A sea of diplomats and dignitaries, the opulent decorations of the Ottoman Sultan’s former ballroom…nothing out of place. Deryn let her eyes trace upwards over an ornate column, and suddenly they settled on a familiar face. Aha.

Lilit stood poised on a balcony overlooking the ballroom, managing to look both beautiful and haughty at once. When Deryn met her gaze, the young ambassador gave a jaunty little wave and a knowing grin. Deryn smiled back uncertainly, fighting down a blush of her own. Then Alek led them into a mass of tall Ottoman socialites, and Lilit’s piercing expression passed out of view.

“Lilit?” Deryn queried, and Alek’s blush returned. “What’s she done to make you all…” She prodded him gently in the side, and he jumped, scowling. “…jumpy?”

They weren’t moving as much now, swaying slowly within the mass of other partygoers, all of whom seemed more interested in gossiping with their dance partners than in keeping with the music’s faster pace. Alek coughed. “She’s just… _smirking_ ,” he whined, as if that were a criminal offense. “That’s what Lilit does. She smirks at you like she knows exactly how uncomfortable you are and all the reasons why. And like she’s amused by it.”

Deryn nodded. “Yeah, that is what Lilit does. I think it’s just something that comes with being so perceptive.”

“But what about us makes her so…”

“Smug?” Deryn supplied. Alek nodded. “Well, she saw through “Dylan” when we first met. And later on, she saw through…” Deryn trailed off, not wanting to recount her time spent pining after the prince.

“…what?” asked Alek. Then Deryn’s first sentence seemed to register. “Wait, wait. She knew you were a girl before _I_ put it together?”

“Yep.”

“Wh– and you never saw fit to tell me that particular story?” Alek sputtered.

“Nope.”

“You–! She…ugh. She really is quite perceptive.”

Deryn nodded, feigning sympathy. “Told you. Anyway, I think she knew exactly how we felt about each other before we realized it ourselves. So it must be…funny, or maybe gratifying, to watch us fumble about as a couple in public.”

“Actually, I find it _infinitely_ amusing,” said a smooth voice from behind the former prince. Deryn would’ve laughed at the shock on Alek’s face if she hadn’t been busy nearly jumping out of her skin herself. “Mind if I cut in?” Lilit asked, already nudging Alek out of the way .

“Lilit?” Deryn hissed, even as Alek stepped hesitantly aside and the young ambassador took his place, her dark eyes glimmering with amusement.  
“What are you doing? We’re supposed to remain inconspicuous! Dancing with the hostess certainly isn’t –”

“Relax,” whispered Lilit. “You’ll only cause more of a scene.” She resumed the rhythm of the dance, then, leading Deryn across the crowded floor. They weaved among the dignitaries and war hawks, leaving Alek hovering awkwardly at the outer edge of the massive hall.

“What are you doing?” Deryn asked again, softer but with growing impatience. “In…” she glanced at the bronze clock at the head of the hall. “In five minutes, we’ve got to get to those blueprints and –”

“I know what the plan is, I created it,” said Lilit, smirking.

“Then why –”

“Because,” said Lilit, “I wanted to wish you luck.”

Deryn paused, surprised. “O-kay?”

“And I wanted to stress the importance of this again. The safety of my people and the continued neutrality of the Republic depend on your success here. You need to steal those Clanker schematics, get them off the premises, and leave no clues as to who it was that stole them. It’s the only way we can reject the Germans’ gift without….rejecting the Germans’ gift.”

Deryn nodded, meeting Lilit’s cool stare. “I know,” she said. “We know the consequences if we should fail. So we won’t. I promise.” Deryn watched as something faded in Lilit’s eyes, some layer of fear and urgency melted into trust. “Even if the boffins weren’t interested in keeping your country neutral, I still would’ve come.” She peered over her shoulder at Alek, who had moved into a gaggle of Ottoman statesmen in an attempt to blend in. 

“And Alek would’ve come too.”

Lilit smiled. “I know. And I thank you for that.” Suddenly, she spun on her heel and lowered Deryn into a dip. _I didn’t even notice she was leading!_ Deryn thought. “Barking spiders, you’re stronger than you look,” she blurted.

“You’re heavier than you look,” replied Lilit, mouth pressed close to Deryn’s ear, strain creeping into your voice. “Let’s review: where are the plans?”

 

“West wing of the palace, Kizlar Agha’s former quarters,” Deryn whispered.

“And the body kite?” Lilit pressed

“In the cupboard, left of the window.”

Lilit pulled her slowly out of the dip, straightening but keeping her voice low. “Good. I’ll be sending a messenger lizard ordering the guard posted there to report to me. That should get him out of your way for a bit, but when he arrives I’ll have to insist the message was faked. You need to be gone before we return to investigate. Understand?”

Deryn had the odd urge to salute. Instead, she kept her hands in position as the pair danced back toward Alek. “Yes. Don’t worry, Lilit, we’ve got this,” Deryn assured her.

“I’m counting on it,” Lilit whispered. “Oh, and Deryn?”

Deryn didn’t like the glint in Lilit’s eyes, but she responded anyway. “Yeah?”

Lilit’s smirk was back in full force. “The two of you are sickeningly, awkwardly adorable.” Deryn felt the heat rising in her face, heard Lilit’s quiet chuckle. “And I think I’ve just made Alek very jealous by stealing you away. Do with that information what you will.” A wink tossed in her direction and Lilit was gone, winding away through the crowd.

“What was that about?” Alek asked, sidling up next to Deryn. “Anything wrong?”

“No,” Deryn murmured, “Just going over the plan one more time. Nothing, really.”

Alek huffed. “Well, I hardly think that was necessary,” he said grumpily.

Deryn grinned to herself. She didn’t think Alek was capable of jealousy, but now she saw it plain as day. Lilit was really going to have to teach her some of her tricks some time. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Alek’s hand. “It’s time for diplomacy by theft.”

Ten minutes later, Deryn was cranking open the broad palace window, German blueprints in a scroll case strapped to her arm and Alek fastening the last of the clasps on her flight suit. “What I don’t understand,” he was saying, “is when Lilit even found the time in all the chaos of the uprising to tell you she’d figured you out.”

Deryn was drawn vividly back to that moment – the cliff, the kiss, the kite. She grinned, blushing. “Oh, she managed,” Deryn told him coyly.

“Wh– what is that supposed to mean?” Alek sputtered.

“Nothing.” Deryn smirked, understanding why Lilit took so much pleasure in just _knowing_. “A story I’ll tell you. But some other time. Get out of here safely. And quickly!” she called over her shoulder, jumping boldly from the window and spreading her wings wide, whooping as the air carried her over the bustle of the Ottoman Republic.


End file.
